# Der Hund · The Dog

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-hund. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-hund.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Da oben wird das Bild von einer Welt  
Up there the picture of a world is
> Adverb pair opens the sentence: da and oben are both adverbs, 'there' and 'above', combining to mean 'up there'. They stand first in the clause and depend on wird, which is delayed to third position. das Bild von einer Welt is the subject, 'the picture of a world'.

**2** aus Blicken immerfort erneut und gilt.  
forever renewed from glances, and holds true.
> gelten, to hold true: gilt comes from gelten, 'to be valid, to hold true'. aus Blicken is 'from glances' and immerfort is 'continually'. erneut is a predicate adjective completing wird, 'is renewed', not the adverb 'again'.

**3** Nur manchmal, heimlich, kommt ein Ding und stellt  
Only sometimes, in secret, a thing comes and sets

**4** sich neben ihn, wenn er durch dieses Bild  
itself beside him, when through this picture he
> Reflexive verb split by the line: sich belongs to stellt, which ends the previous line: stellt sich neben ihn, 'places itself beside him'. neben ihn is accusative, marking motion to a spot beside him, not a fixed location. ihn is the human being.


**5** sich drängt, ganz unten, anders, wie er ist;  
pushes through, far below, other, as he is;
> sich drängen, to push through: sich drängen means 'to press, push, crowd oneself'; with durch dieses Bild from the line above it is 'pushes through this picture'. wie er ist means 'as he is'. ganz unten is 'far below' and anders is 'other'.

**6** nicht ausgestoßen und nicht eingereiht  
not cast out and not ranked in,
> Two past participles negated: ausgestoßen is the participle of ausstoßen, 'to expel, cast out'. eingereiht is the participle of einreihen, 'to slot into a row, rank in'. Both depend on an implied ist and are negated by the paired nicht ... und nicht.

**7** und wie im Zweifel seine Wirklichkeit  
and, as if in doubt, his reality
> wie standing in for a hypothetical: Zweifel is 'doubt'; wie im Zweifel means 'as though in doubt'. Here wie carries that hypothetical sense rather than its usual meaning 'how'. seine Wirklichkeit, 'his reality', is the object of weggebend in the next line.

**8** weggebend an das Bild, das er vergißt,  
giving away to the picture, which he forgets,
> Present participle used adverbially: weggebend is the present participle of weggeben, 'to give away, hand over', used here adverbially. an das Bild is accusative after weggeben. das er vergißt, 'which he forgets', is a relative clause; vergißt keeps the old ß spelling of vergessen.


**9** um dennoch immer wieder sein Gesicht  
only to hold his face, again and again,
> um ... zu split across lines: um opens a purpose clause, 'in order to', whose infinitive hineinzuhalten arrives only in the next line; German can stretch this frame across a line break. sein Gesicht, 'his face', is its object. dennoch is 'nevertheless' and immer wieder is 'again and again'.

**10** hineinzuhalten, fast mit einem Flehen,  
into it, almost with a pleading,
> hineinhalten, to hold into: hineinhalten means 'to hold something into or inside'. The zu-infinitive hineinzuhalten completes the um ... zu begun in the line above: 'in order to hold his face into it'. Flehen means 'pleading, entreaty', from flehen, 'to beseech'.

**11** beinah begreifend, nah am Einverstehen  
nearly comprehending, close to understanding,
> A noun coined from a verb: Einverstehen is Rilke's own noun, built from einverstanden sein, 'to be in agreement', and verstehen, 'to understand'; it names something like 'mutual understanding, accord'. begreifend is the present participle of begreifen, 'to grasp'. nah am is nah an dem, 'close to'.

**12** und doch verzichtend: denn er wäre nicht.  
and yet renouncing: for he would not be.
> Subjunctive II with wäre: wäre is the Konjunktiv II, or subjunctive, of sein, used for a contrary-to-fact condition: 'for he would not be'. verzichtend is the present participle of verzichten, 'to renounce, forgo'. doch here means 'yet'.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.